An Exploration of the Natural World

As a science writer, I will forever be a student of science. By writing ecological and environmental stories, I hope to inspire others to engage in scientific conversations and explore their own backyards. Currently, I am a science and content writer with the University of Idaho.

Wildfire in the West

Photo Credit: Kari Greer/U.S. Forest Service

Climate Change Increases Fire Risk in Idaho

Starting a wildfire requires three ingredients: oxygen, a spark and fuel. Outdoors, oxygen is not hard to come by. Lightning or humans can provide the spark. But the fuel, that’s really the key.

Tracking Baby Sea Turtles

Photo Credit: Rebecca Scott

Nano-tags track baby sea turtles during their first few hours

Baby sea turtles vanish after they scamper into the ocean. Years later, juvenile turtles may pop up thousands of kilometers away, but often scientists don't see them again until they return to their birthplaces to nest on the beach. Now, using tiny tracking tags weighing no more than two watermelon seeds, a team has followed newborn loggerhead turtles during their first critical hours at sea, revealing how they evade predators and hitch rides on the ocean's currents.

A Pocket of Cool Waters

Shifts in trade winds and ocean currents powered a resurgence of endangered Galapagos penguins over the past 300 years, according to a new study. These changes enlarged a cold pool of water the penguins rely on for food and breeding - an expansion that could continue as the climate changes over the coming decades, the study's authors said.